Little girl lost
by barcode-babe-210
Summary: PG for now, might change later. A little girl shows up, and Alec feels the strong urge to protect her. Fine, but why does Max feel the same way? Did Manticore whip up some more surprises? MA, of course. R and R, please!
1. Surprise!

A little girl walks through the streets of Seattle, clutching an old, dirty doll like it's her lifeline. She pays no mind to the gathering storm clouds until they open up, soaking her in a torrential downpour. Everyone else runs inside, to escape the unusually heavy storm, but the little girl walks on, her chocolate ringlets drooping with rainwater, her light green eyes widening at the sight of the deserted playground.

She runs to a tree, setting her dolly beneath it. "Don't worry, Baby Lindsey, I'll just be on the swing set. Ok?" she asks it, nodding to Baby Lindsey's answer. She kisses the doll, dropping it underneath the tree again as she skips to the playground, oblivious to the mud puddles swirling around her ankles.

She sits on a swing, and, not knowing how to pump her legs yet, is quite confused when she realizes that she has no one to push her. I never do... she thinks sadly, but then the thought is banished to the dark corners of her mind when she sees Baby Lindsey looking so lonely beneath the tree.

She runs over to her, a tear running down her face but indistinguishable from the rain that keeps falling steadily. "I'm scared of them, too, Baby Lindsey." She sits next to Baby Lindsey, pulling the limp doll close to her, scooching closer to the tree to hide her from the rain, from the thunder, from the world.

But apparently she doesn't do that good of a job hiding, because just then a man rides by on his bike, his eye catching on the sorry sight of the little girl. She shivers a little, and runs to hide behind the tree. The blonde man gets off the bike, and walks over to the tree, where the little girl is cowering in fear.

"I hate Manicore! I'm never, ever going back!" she screeches, adorably unable to say the "t". Alec kneels down so that he's eye level, and smooths the girl's hair.

"I'm not planning on going back, either." he tells her, and she looks at him with big, scared eyes. Eyes that are too young to know the horrors of Manticore. "I'm Alec."

"I'm Dimple." she tells him, smiling a little. True to her name, a dimple digs into her cheek. Alec smirks, already taken with the girl.

"Let's get you out of the rain. My apartment's around the corner. Can you walk it?" he asks, and she nods with determination, twirling around the bike as Alec wheels it to his door.

Alec's Apartment

"You should get out of those wet clothes. Can't have you getting sick, can we?" Alec asks Dimple and she shrugs. "Stay here for a while. It's a mean world out there, you know?" The little girl nods, brunette ringlets bobbing madly around her head.

"Yup, lots and lots of meanness. There's Manicore, and there's the Fermilers, and a mean boy tried to take Baby Lindsey!" she tells him, and he almost lets out a grin. She's serious, though, so he keeps a straight face.

"You want something to eat?" he asks, and she nods happily, forgetting entirely about Baby Lindsey's near-death experience as she sits down on the stool.

"Hmmm...we have old Chinese, some peanut butter, and milk- gotta keep those tryptophan levels high." he says in an announcer's voice, making Dimple giggle. He sniffs the Chinese, making a face. "On second thought, Chinese is out. How about pizza?" he asks, and she nods excitedly.

"I'll order the pizza, you put on these." he runs into his room, returning moments later with a shirt and some sweatpants. He takes the sweatpants and cuts them so they're only knee-length...on Alec, anyway. Dimple heads off at a run for the bathroom, droplets of water flying everywhere as she blurs.

Alec, too busy taking care of Dimple to remember about the heist that him and Max were supposed to pull, picks up the phone and starts dialing. "Hi, Bob, I'll have a large cheese..."

Braun Museum, Seattle.

"Where is he?" Max asks, pretending to be angry but really just worried out of her mind. Ooh, if he and that lima bean he calls a bike don't get down here in-oh, god, what if he's in an accident? What if he's just lying somewhere, bleeding in a ditch? Oh, god...

She jumps on her bike, racing to Alec's house to make sure that he's at least safe. Well, until she gets her hands on him.

Alec's apartment, Seattle.

"You like the pizza?" Alec asks Dimple, and she smiles, looking up at him with admiration. Then a thought crosses her mind, and her face wrinkles up in worry.

"Alec, will Manicore get us?" she asks, her bottom lip quivering with fear. "They're mean. I don't wanna go back" she tells him, and he puts his arm around her as she offers Baby Lindsey a slice of pizza.

"Don't worry, Dimple. You have big, strong me to keep them away." he tells her, and she sniffs, smiling a little. "Why don't we watch some cartoons?" She nods, running over to the couch, nearly tripping on the sweatpants and t-shirt, both of which almost swallow her whole. Alec turns on Looney Tunes, chatting to her about Road Runner to take her mind off of her own personal hell.

The door's kicked open. Oh, god, Max. Damn it! Dimple lets out a frightened squeal and runs into his room, Baby Lindsey's pizza-sauce covered face disappearing as well. "Alec, why the hell are you sitting here watching cartoons instead of stealing from bad guys with me at the museum?" she yells, her anger evident. Alec eyes the bedroom, making a move to go to Dimple, but Max stops him. "Answer me!" she orders, and he sighs.

"Max, I found a little girl. She's Manticore. I need to take care of her." he whispers, and she drops her gaze, embarrassed a little.

"Sorry. I was just, you know, worried." she tells Alec, and his eyes widen slightly. "Oh, don't be so surprised, moron." she says lightly, needing to put something on the end so it doesn't sound too mushy. Alec sees through it, but doesn't say anything. "So, where's this girl?" she asks, looking around.

"I'll be right back." he tells her, and goes into the bedroom. He looks around, trying to find where Dimple's hiding, but the answer comes immediately from the two tiny feet sticking out from under the bed. "Dimple, it's just me. You can come out now." he tells her, and she crawls out from underneath the bed, Baby Lindsey clenched tightly in her tiny arms.

"Is she a bad girl?" she asks, crawling into Alec's lap. What way do you mean? Alec muses, but shakes his head.

"No, she's on our side. Her name's Max, and she's nice. She's just mad." he tells her, and she nods. He pulls a dust bunny out of her hair, lifting her up. "Want to go meet her?" he asks, and she nods uncertainly.

They walk out into the living room, where Max is waiting eagerly to meet Dimple. Alec sees Dimple tighten her hold on Baby Lindsey, and watches Max silently "Aw!" at Dimple. "Dimple, this is Max. Max, this is Dimple." he introduces.

"Hi, Dimple. Sorry if I scared you. Sometimes I get worried when Alec does stuff." she says, smiling at Dimple.

"Hi, Ma'am. It's okay. I'm four, a lots of things scare me." she says, holding out her hand. Max stifles a giggle and shakes it. Alec just stares, happy yet a little scared at seeing Max so happy and well, just the happy thing. Usually she's moping about the virus...wait, she hasn't said a word about Logan all week! Alec thinks, confused and hopeful at the same time.

"You want some pizza?" Alec asks, and both girls nod. He carries Dimple to the couch, where the three of them sit and eat pizza, watching Looney Tunes and talking about how bad they feel for the Coyote.

Alec's apartment.

"Alec, I think she's asleep." Max says, motioning to Dimple, who is sprawled out on top of both of their laps. Alec smiles at seeing the little girl look so peaceful.

"Just let her sleep. We don't know if she has shark DNA and won't be able to sleep." he says, giving her a glare.

"Hey, it's not my fault that I get bored in the middle of the night. And don't give me that look, mister, you're usually up when I stop by, anyway. And you know you like my company." Max tells him, biting back a smirk. I love it when we banter...I never did have a chance to do that with Logan. Oh well, that's part of the reason why he's gone now, isn't it? she muses, not missing her newly declared ex a bit.

"Like I want a hole in the head." he teases, and she punches him lightly.

"That wasn't very nice." Max pouts, her bottom lip sticking out ridiculously far. Alec laughs, unable to believe that this happy, lighthearted Max is the same one that wanted to kick his ass nonstop last week. Amazing. Then again, that's Max for you.

Dimple shifts, and Max looks down, smiling in a way that's almost maternal. Alec catch sight of the barcode, and curiosity grabs hold of him. He pulls away tiny brown ringlets. Apparently Max has the same idea, and her hand covers his. When the barcode is finally revealed, they both just sit there in shock...

Iit reads X10-946, a perfect combination of their own numbers. They both study the little girl's face, and with one knowing glance at Dimple, they know she's theirs. Brown curls, emerald eyes, a fighter's spirit and a humanitarian's heart.

Ours.

Alec wraps his arm around Max and they sit there while their daughter sleeps, wondering what other surprises Manticore has for them.

A/N: so, whatcha think? Like it? Don't? Feel free to tell me anything you want to on a nice, shiny review- I like to call them happy-Molly-ograms.

Disclaimer: not mine...BOOOOOOOOO! boos Fox, they cry

luv ya!

Molly Jeane :D


	2. Pizza sauce and revelations

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Alec's apartment

Alec tucks Dimple into his bed, making sure the blanket's extra-snug so that she doesn't get cold. God knows how long she was out in the rain. He gives one last glance, and moves back a bit so Max has room to get in there. ~Sweet dreams, Dimple...holy shit, she's my kid! Oh, man...~ She bends down, stroking their daughter's hair, and whispers a goodnight.~That's my daughter...oh, my god....~ They walk out of the room, both still stunned. 

Alec shuts the door behind them, not wanting Dimple to hear any of the harsh words that might be said. After all, two stubborn, headstrong X5's who both just found out that they have a daughter together might have some nasty effects. He kicks the wall, letting out all of his anger and stress in a kick that rocks the room and leaves dry wall on the floor. But Max just sits there, staring into space, wanting nothing more than just to have someone give her a giant bear hug to ease away her worry.

Alec leads her to the kitchen counter, and proceeds to get her a nice, warm glass of milk to calm her down, not even bothering to ask her if she likes it- they are part cat, after all. He places it in front of her, and she takes a sip. "So, that's our kid." Max says, not quite able to get a grip on it yet.

"Yup." Alec says, fuming on the inside. ~I knew everyone at Manticore...the technicians, the guards..I should have caught wind of this.~

"She's a doll." Max says, her mouth twitching into a smile of sorts. "God, I can't imagine being that young and alone in the world. She's had it so hard." she trails off, tears filling her eyes as she thinks of her little girl out in the big, scary, mean world.

"How can this... this isn't...." unable to finish the sentence, Max just punches the kitchen counter, leaving a sizable dent. "Isn't fair. Not to us, not to her, not to anyone." she whispers, unable to find the strength to yell.

Alec quickly closes the gap between them, pulling her into a hug. "Shh... it's all right. She's safe now. I'm not going to let anyone get her... or you, for that matter." he tells her, stroking her hair softly, knowing that all X5's are comforted by touch. Max just pulls him tighter, burying her head in his chest.

"Why does the world suck so much?" Max's question is muffled by his shirt, and the lump in her throat. Alec sighs, taking her hand and leading her to the guest room, where there's an extra bed for nights when her shark DNA spurs her to come over.

"Because stupid people rule the world. Let's try to get some sleep- I hear four year olds are quite the handful." he says, and Max nods, casting a glance to Alec's bedroom door just as a tiny head leaps behind it. 

~And now I'm seeing things....great, just great!~ "Maybe I should get some sleep." she mumbles, her eyes already closing as Alec places a blanket over them. ~We have a daughter...go figure, the guy I've had a teeny crush on- ok, a more than teeny crush on, and I have a daughter we never knew about.~ Max thinks as she succumbs to sleep.

"Shark DNA my ass." Alec mutters as Max's head hits his shoulder. ~I need to keep them safe. They're all I got.~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I think they like each other, Baby Lindsey" Dimple tells her doll, who' propped up by the headboard. She waits a moment, then contorts her face and sticks out her tongue. "I don't like boys either. They have cooties, and are mean, and are all grossish and icky."

Dimple holds on tight to the blanket that Alec tucked around her, not wanting to ruin how he tucked her in. She pulls Baby Lindsey to her side, at once letting her guard down and sticking out her bottom lip. A tear falls down her cheek, hitting Baby Lindsey on the head, but that doesn't really matter. Baby Lindsey is no stranger to Dimple's pain.

"I don't want to leave." Dimple whispers into her doll's ear. "Not ever." she thinks out loud, so caught up in her conversation with Baby Lindsey that her transgenic hearing doesn't catch the sound of someone outside her room.

Baby Lindsey responds with silence, so Dimple decides to change the subject. "Do you think all boys have cooties, or just the icky ones...ew, can you catch 'em? Yuck." 

"Ooh, maybe they have medcine to keep you un-cootieish....that'd be good..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Alec's apartment.

Max listens to Dimple, promising herself that she will try to be the best mother she can. That her daughter will have a family...if Alec wants one. She glances back into the guest room, where Alec sleeps peacefully. He's sprawled out on the bed, his one arm where Max had recently lain. 

~oh, god, the crap I'm gonna get from him for "sleeping together"~ she sighs, walking into the kitchen to find the box of pizza. She grabs a slice and takes a bite, freezing at the noise behind her. She turns, looking in front of her and sees no one there. But then she hears a giggle, and lowers her gaze. "Hi, Dimple. You want a slice?" she asks, and Dimple nods, climbing onto the counter.

"Mmm..I like pizza. It's supergood." Dimple announces, and Max smiles. "It's all cheesy and saucy and bready...." As if to prove her point, she takes a giant bite of the pizza, leaving her whole face full of pizza sauce. "Yum"

"It's one of my favorites, too. You have some sauce." Max tells her, and Dimple wipes her mouth, just making it messier. "Here," Max grabs a napkin and wipes off the sauce, remembering some mom on the street doing it to her kid. ~Have to start somewhere.~ she muses as Dimple takes another bite of pizza, ruining the clean face that was there a moment ago.

"Do you have trouble sleeping, too?" Max asks, coming up with no other conclusion for a four-year-old to be awake at 2 a.m. unless she has shark DNA. Dimple nods, her bottom lip jutting out in an adorable pout- one that can probably con anyone into doing anything to get this little girl to smile. ~That's gonna cause some trouble.~ Max groans inwardly, not looking forward to that day at all...well, unless it can get her out of trouble.

"Yupyup. Sleep doesn't like me. It shows me mean things." she tells Max, sniffing back tears at the mere mention of her dreams. Max pulls the little girl into a hug, not able to stand seeing her sad.

"I have nightmares, too." she says, trying to get the little girl happy. "If you want, we can go for a walk or watch tv, so you don't have to go to sleep." Dimple nods, taking Max's hand and leading her to the door.

"Let's leave a note- don't want Alec worrying like a mother hen." Max says, and Dimple, obviously not familiar with the phrase, scrunches up her face in thought as Max jots down a quick note to Alec and tapes it on the bedroom door, where he's sure to find it.

"You ready?" Max asks, and Dimple nods excitedly. "Here, where this- it's cold outside. We'll go shopping in the morning." she says, zipping Dimple into her leather coat.

"Can I have a piggyback ride?" she asks, and Max nods, squatting down as Dimple leaps on her back. The door shuts behind the pair, leaving Alec in a deep sleep as they head off to paint the town red...or rainbow, which is Dimple's favorite color.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: ok, how stupid do I feel? Wait, don't answer that- it's just degrading. 946, 946, 946- THAT's Dimple's designation. Sorry for the confusion, but at least ya got a good laugh out of it! Tell me whatcha think of this chapter- I'd love to hear anything but the mockery of my Jessica Simpson-esque fluke. Drop me a line!

DISCLAIMER: Not mine, and don't even bother suing me, 'cuz all you're gonna get is $9.47 and a bag of cheetos. On second thought, you won't even get the damn cheetos, because I'll eat 'em before you get here!!!!! mwahahahahahhahahahaha!!!!

Luv ya!

Molly Jeane :D 


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